Anchor line reel assembly

ABSTRACT

A reel for an anchor line is mounted on the underside of a boat deck with the line passing through a deck fitting. Metallic ribbon springs which are unwound from a takeup reel onto an output reel during the laying of the anchor cause the line to be rewound rather than accumulate on the deck during manual raising of the anchor. Line guides positioned on the reel supports prevent the line from fouling.

llnited Mats lP tent Edellherg et a1. 1 51 Belt. 29, 1972 [54] ANCHURLllNlE REEL A1IEMBLY 2,505,920 5/1950 Sporket....................242/107 )1 I 2,514,144 7/1950 Shedlock ..242/107 [72]Invenmrsmelmgt 2,945,921 7/1960 Belicka et al. .242/107 91 1111111,Houston, both of Tex.

[73] Assignee: West Produem Corporation, Newark, NJ. FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPUCATHONS [22] Filed, Sept 3 1969 894,505 4/1962 Great Britain..242/107 [21] Appl.No.: 1355,9011 Primary ExaminerStanley N.GilreathAssistant ExaminerWerner H. Schroeder Alt -St d N '1 521 11s. c1"212/1117 n, 242/865 12,242/106 may epno an [5 1] H1211. Cl nfifisll75/49 57 ABSTRA'CT [58] Field 01 Search ..242/86.5 A, 107 R, 107.1,107.13,

242/ 072 073 1074 1075 10 1 5 37 A reel for an anchor line is mounted onthe underside ofa boat deck with the line passing through a deckfitting. Metallic rib- [56] References Cited bon springs which areunwound from a takeup reel onto an output reel during the laying of theanchor cause the line to be UNITED STATES PATENTS rewound rather thanaccumulate on the deck during manual raising of the anchor. Line guidespositioned on the reel sup- 1,103,955 7/1914 68101: ..242/l07 portsprevent the line from li 1,587,427 6/1926 Schwxer. .....242/1072,269,534 1/1942 Jaeger.... ..242/l07.2 2 Claims, 6 Drawing FiguresPatented Feb 29, 1972 3,645,468

2 Sheets-Shoot 1 d I" 0?? 'l H I ilk -1 I| I :H.

I l' J W 54 3 52 v v INVENTORS 50 ALAN Y. EDELBERG h M JIMMY E. HILLATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 29, 1972 2 Sheets-Shut 2 ATTORN EYS ANCHGR LINEIRIEEIL ASSIEMIEILY The present invention relates to a novel reelassembly which is particularly adapted for use as an anchor line reel.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an anchor line reelassembly which may be positioned at the underside of a boat deck, forexample, in the chain locker and which will automatically reel in andstore the anchor line when the anchor is manually retrieved from thewater after use. The reel assembly of the present invention is notintended to itself raise the anchor but rather is intended to retractand store the line which would otherwise be deposited upon the deck asthe anchor is hauled in. The anchor reel is revolved to reel up the lineby stressed metallic ribbon springs which are each unwound from a firstreel when the anchor is lowered and onto a second reel to flex thesprings in a direction opposite the direction of flexure of the springon the first reel. The force stored in the springs by this rewinding iseffective to rotate the reel in the line rewind direction when theweight of the anchor is taken off of a section of the line during manualhauling in of the anchor. However, this spring force is not sufficientto overcome the dead weight of the anchor when the boat is anchored.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent as this description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a presently preferredembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view partially in elevation and partially in verticalsection along the line 2-2 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on the line 3- 3 of FIG.2.

FIG. 4i is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the anchor line ashaving been unwound from the reel.

FIG. 5 is a detail view partly in perspective and partly in phantomlines showing the reels upon which the ribbon springs are wound.

FIG. 6 is an exploded detail view illustrating the connection of theanchor reel to one of its supports.

Referring now to the drawings, an anchor reel generally designated byreference numeral I is secured to the underside of a boat deck 12 by apair of supports M. The supports are connected to deck 12 by bolts 16passing through holes drilled in the deck and nuts 18.

The anchor reel comprises a pair of circular end walls 20 and 22 whichare connected to a central drum 2d by right angle clips 26 and rivets28. The reel is rotatably disposed upon a fixed central axle 30 by nylonbushings 32 surrounding the axle and disposed in apertures in the endwalls to function as bearings. Opposite ends of axle 30 pass throughholes in bosses 3d at the lower ends of supports 14, and the axle issecured against rotation by cotter pins 36 which extend through holes inbosses 34 and in the axle as best seen in FIG. 6.

A pair of stainless steel ribbon springs 38 are disposed within andadjacent the opposite ends of drum 24. As shown in FIG. 3, when theanchor line 40 is fully reeled in, each spring 33 is wound on a takeupreel ill with the exception of the front end of the spring which isfixed to an output reel 42 by a screw 44 or other comparable means. Asseen in FIG. I, one end of line All) is secured to the anchor reel by alanyard 43.

Referring to FIG. 5, the output reel 42 is positioned upon axle 30 toprevent relative rotation therebetween by means of a rod 416 whichextends through an aperture in the axle 3i and which has it projectingends positioned within a slot 48 cut into the face of reel 42.

Each takeup reel 41 is secured to the adjacent end wall 20 and 22 viabolts 50 and nuts 52. A rectangular plate 54 is associated with each setof takeup and output reels and func tions to maintain the springs 38 inalignment and to prevent coils of the springs from becomingdisassociated with the takeup and output reels. One end of plate 54 isconnected to the takeup reel by bolt Sll and nut 52, and the other endof the plate is rotatably mounted on the axle 343 and prevented frommoving along the axle by a cotter pin 56.

As seen in FIGS. l and 2 each of the supports M includes at its upperend a pair of inwardly facing flanges 57 which extend over the peripheryof the end walls 20, 22 and are spaced closely adjacent thereto. Thespacing between the underside of the flanges 57 and the periphery of theend walls is less than the thickness of line $0. In this manner, flanges57 serve as line guides to preclude the possibility of the line 40 goingover the top of the end walls rather than being retained on drum 2d.

The operation of the anchor reel will now be described. Assuming thatthe anchor reel assembly is in the position shown in FIG. 3 in which theline 410 is fully retracted and wound on drum 241, when the anchor isdropped, the line 40 is pulled off of drum 241 and the anchor reelrotates clockwise. As takeup reels 4l1 rotate along with the drum 24 andits end walls relative to output reel 42, the springs 38 are unwoundfrom takeup reels 411 and wound in the opposite direction on outputreels 42.

As shown in FIG. ll, a knot 58 or other abutment is provided near thesecured end of line 40 to prevent unwinding all of line 4M) which mightcause it to separate from the reel and which might damage the springs38. The knot 58 abuts against a fitting 60 in the deck 112. When thisposition is reached, the springs 38 are in the position illustrated inFIG. 4 in which nearly all of the spring has been wound upon output reel42. It will be appreciated that the length of line 40 and the number ofturns of the springs 38 are correlated so that at least a portion of thesprings will remain on the takeup reels 411 when line 40 is fully playedout. Assuming that the anchor is raised by a person standing on the deckand pulling up the line in hand' over-hand fashion; the line 40, ratherthan accumulating in loops on the deck, is automatically wound onto drum24 by virtue of the drum rotating counterclockwise under the influenceof the springs 38 unwinding from the output reels 42 onto the takeupreels 41. The force stored in the springs 38 when wound on output reels42 is insufficient to lift the anchor, but is sufficient to reel in theline 40 as explained above when the weight of the anchor is not actingon the line.

While the presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been shownand described with particularity, it will be appreciated that variouschanges and modifications may readily suggest themselves to one ofordinary skill in the art upon being apprised of the present disclosure.It is intended to encompass all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

ll. An anchor reel assembly comprising a drum having a pair of endwalls, said drum being rotatable about a fixed central axle, a pair ofsupports each having an end secured to opposite ends of said axleexteriorly of said end walls, means to secure the other ends of saidsupports to a boat deck, an anchor line disposed about said drum andhaving an end connected to an anchor, each of said supports having areduced width portion extending generally parallel and adjacent to ,theoutside of the respective end wall and having at said other end anenlarged width portion extending inwardly b yond the periphery of therespective end wall and spaced tlyZr-efrom by a distance less than thethickness of said ancho'r ;line to constitute line guide means, andmeans to rewind saidanchor disposed within said drum and including apair of metallic ribbon springs each wound on a respective takeup reelrotatably supported upon a respective one of said end walls, a pair ofoutput reels mounted upon said axle in fixed positions adjacent to saidend walls, each of said output reels being connected to one end of therespective springs so the spring is wound upon said output reel as theanchor line is played out off of said drum, said springs being wound onsaid output reels in a direction opposite to which said springs arewound on said takeup reels, the force stored in said springs wound onsaid output reels being insufficient to reel in the line when the weightof the anchor is on the line but sufficient to reel in the line when theweight of the anchor is not transmitted to a portion of the lineadjacent the drum, and a pair of plate means each fixably united at oneend to one of said takeup reels and connected at the other end to saidaxle so as to enable rotation of the plate means about said axle, saidplate means aligning the respective springs and maintaining the springsassociated with the respective takeup and output reels.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means to secure saidsupports to a boat deck are secured to the under- 5 side of the boatdeck, the boat deck being provided with an aperture adjacent to saidsupports, and said anchor line extending through said aperture in theboat deck.

1. An anchor reel assembly comprising a drum having a pair of end walls,said drum being rotatable about a fixEd central axle, a pair of supportseach having an end secured to opposite ends of said axle exteriorly ofsaid end walls, means to secure the other ends of said supports to aboat deck, an anchor line disposed about said drum and having an endconnected to an anchor, each of said supports having a reduced widthportion extending generally parallel and adjacent to the outside of therespective end wall and having at said other end an enlarged widthportion extending inwardly beyond the periphery of the respective endwall and spaced therefrom by a distance less than the thickness of saidanchor line to constitute line guide means, and means to rewind saidanchor disposed within said drum and including a pair of metallic ribbonsprings each wound on a respective takeup reel rotatably supported upona respective one of said end walls, a pair of output reels mounted uponsaid axle in fixed positions adjacent to said end walls, each of saidoutput reels being connected to one end of the respective springs so thespring is wound upon said output reel as the anchor line is played outoff of said drum, said springs being wound on said output reels in adirection opposite to which said springs are wound on said takeup reels,the force stored in said springs wound on said output reels beinginsufficient to reel in the line when the weight of the anchor is on theline but sufficient to reel in the line when the weight of the anchor isnot transmitted to a portion of the line adjacent the drum, and a pairof plate means each fixably united at one end to one of said takeupreels and connected at the other end to said axle so as to enablerotation of the plate means about said axle, said plate means aligningthe respective springs and maintaining the springs associated with therespective takeup and output reels.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1,wherein said means to secure said supports to a boat deck are secured tothe underside of the boat deck, the boat deck being provided with anaperture adjacent to said supports, and said anchor line extendingthrough said aperture in the boat deck.